In an advanced stage of renal failure, body wastes cannot be removed sufficiently, and therefore, blood levels of uremia-related substances such as urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) increase, to thereby induce a variety of symptoms. The symptoms include increased fatigue, shortness of breath, decreased urine volume, edema, loss of appetite, and in addition to these, hypertension, hyperkalemia, and anemia. If left untreated, patients will eventually die. Therefore, patients suffering from uremia must undergo hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or renal transplantation.
Of these three treatment approaches, peritoneal dialysis has recently come into wide use, for several reasons. Firstly, as compared with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis is convenient in that it can be performed at home, requiring neither a special device nor human assistance; peritoneal dialysis is a slow process, and thus can maintain the patient's physical condition stable, without causing low blood pressure or uncomfortable, tired feeling which may otherwise be caused after dialysis; and with peritoneal dialysis, the patient is free from the “lost time” that arises in the case of hemodialysis.
However, when patients are treated with peritoneal dialysis for a long period of time, they may have a problem of possible functional disorder of the peritoneum, involving hardening of the peritoneum, or peritonitis. This disorder is caused by a high dose of glucose employed in peritoneal dialysis, where the peritoneum is used as a semipermeable membrane, and a dialysate containing glucose at a high concentration is introduced into the intraperitoneal cavity through a catheter indwelled therein, and the high-glucose level dialysate is kept in there for 5 to 6 hours before discharge.